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Rainy days may spell cranky days for parents and kids because plans are likely to be adjusted or worse, cancelled. Then again, such days and night must be taken with a hefty ounce of positivity and possibility. The next time you are stuck indoors, you might want to look into a good number of ideas we gathered, from kid-friendly and parent-friendly blogs. These 15 rainy day games for toddlers and preschool kids may just make you look forward to the rainbow after any given rain.

Fill the Clothesline Fast Contests

Photo from Toddler Approved

Rainy days are perfect for cooking a nice, warm meal for the family to just sit down and enjoy. While your kids wait for dinner to be served, why not let them hang out, literally and figuratively? Simply tie a string across your dining chairs. Your string must be able to hold the weight of socks and a good number of clothespins. The child who hangs the most number of socks in 30 seconds wins. Other variations include the craziest sock combinations, or even changing the socks to lettered papers. Know more about this contest from the Toddler Approved blog.

Build playgrounds that will cater to the play needs of kids attending your church’s services.
Photo by Stuart via Flickr, Creative Commons

Aside from being places of worship and fellowship, churches have also provided families and kids a safe and fun environment through its playground. Children are indeed part of everyday church environments since the average range of children’s church attendance is between 19 to 23 percent of the total attendance, according to leadership coach and writer Tony Morgan. And for every four adults attending weekend church services, a normal church would have one child between 0-11 years of age.

Kids are looking forward to playtime, since they are able to have fun and their curiosity drives them to play more. The Shasta Children and Families First Commission (SCFFC) research shows that playgrounds for kids aged 0-5 provide learning opportunities and helps develop a child’s emotional, motor, and social skills at play. A playground offers different kinds of play that helps kids grow in these areas and skill sets in their lives.

It is important to build a kindergarten play area that is safe, accessible, and well-planned to further help in the kids’ development at an early age. You need to consider even the smallest details in order to avoid accidents from happening inside the playground. To help you on planning your very own preschool playground, here are 10 steps that you can follow to create the best and safe play area for preschool kids:

1. Determine the exact location and size for your playground. If you are planning to setup your playground outdoors, The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Childcare and Early Education (NRC) suggests that the site that you’ve selected should be easily reached by a route free from hazards and should not be farther than one-eighth mile from the school building itself. The said area should be at a minimum of seventy-five square feet for each child that uses the playground; if not, it is highly recommended that an indoor play area be installed as well to meet the ideal play space requirements.

Swinging moments are happy moments for both kids and the kids at heart. Photo by PROLoren Kerns via Flickr, Creative Commons

A child’s first playground experience may be through the use of swings. Whether it’s at the park, school, or at their backyard play set, everyone can have a thrilling and exciting sensation in every back and forth motion of the swing. And it has benefits as well, since kids can develop motor skills including balancing, locomotion, and body coordination while swinging. Who could ever forget swings as one of the most well-loved, favorite and iconic outdoor playing equipment that reminds us of our childhood memories, and no doubt is still loved by kids of all ages today?